Bloomfire is a cloud-based collaboration platform that aims to help enterprise employees search for information to do their jobs by connecting people with information and knowledge. Bloomfire delivers content management and social...
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Bloomfire is a cloud-based collaboration platform that aims to help enterprise employees search for information to do their jobs by connecting people with information and knowledge. Bloomfire delivers content management and social...
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Freshservice is a SaaS-based IT Help Desk and service management solution that enables organizations to simplify their IT operations. The solution offers multiple features which include a ticketing system, self-service portal and...
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Freshservice is a SaaS-based IT Help Desk and service management solution that enables organizations to simplify their IT operations. The solution offers multiple features which include a ticketing system, self-service portal and...
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Advisor is a help desk solution designed for midsize and large enterprise businesses. It can help with issue management, knowledge base maintenance and customer self service via a public portal or direct feedback surveys.
Advisor...
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Advisor is a help desk solution designed for midsize and large enterprise businesses. It can help with issue management, knowledge base maintenance and customer self service via a public portal or direct feedback surveys.
Advisor...
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Lessonly is a cloud-based learning management system that allows users to build, share and track training materials and activity from a singular interface. It is primarily used by customer service teams, sales teams, and human resources....
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Lessonly is a cloud-based learning management system that allows users to build, share and track training materials and activity from a singular interface. It is primarily used by customer service teams, sales teams, and human resources....
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NotoWare is a cloud-based knowledge management solution that helps disseminate work knowledge to employees. Employees can find the latest information related to work instructions and new job task details through the solution’s database...
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NotoWare is a cloud-based knowledge management solution that helps disseminate work knowledge to employees. Employees can find the latest information related to work instructions and new job task details through the solution’s database...
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MyHub is a cloud-based intranet and knowledge management solution that is suitable for businesses of all sizes. It is industry agnostic and serves clients globally. Core features of MyHub are intranet setup and management, site management,...
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MyHub is a cloud-based intranet and knowledge management solution that is suitable for businesses of all sizes. It is industry agnostic and serves clients globally. Core features of MyHub are intranet setup and management, site management,...
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Helpjuice is a dedicated knowledge base and knowledge management solution suitable for businesses of all sizes and in any industry segment. It includes applications for the creation and management of both internal and external knowledge...
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Helpjuice is a dedicated knowledge base and knowledge management solution suitable for businesses of all sizes and in any industry segment. It includes applications for the creation and management of both internal and external knowledge...
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PlanPlus Online is a complete online solution for customer relationship management and business collaboration. It includes modules for SFA, customer support and email marketing, all designed to enhance overall productivity.

PlanPlus Online is a complete online solution for customer relationship management and business collaboration. It includes modules for SFA, customer support and email marketing, all designed to enhance overall productivity.

Web+Center is a suite of open source, customizable help desk solutions for IT organizations in almost any industry. The web-based help desk application can be run on-site or in the cloud. With access to 100% of the source code, organizations...
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Web+Center is a suite of open source, customizable help desk solutions for IT organizations in almost any industry. The web-based help desk application can be run on-site or in the cloud. With access to 100% of the source code, organizations...
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Built on cutting-edge technology, SmartSupport by Safeharbor is a comprehensive, plug-and-play knowledge base platform that is scalable to companies of all sizes. Safeharbor has more than a decade of experience as a leader in knowledge...
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Built on cutting-edge technology, SmartSupport by Safeharbor is a comprehensive, plug-and-play knowledge base platform that is scalable to companies of all sizes. Safeharbor has more than a decade of experience as a leader in knowledge...
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Samanage is suitable for companies seeking a help desk solution that offers IT service management (ITSM) functionalities. Samanage offers comprehensive service desk functionality that helps businesses respond to service requests in...
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Samanage is suitable for companies seeking a help desk solution that offers IT service management (ITSM) functionalities. Samanage offers comprehensive service desk functionality that helps businesses respond to service requests in...
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Remedyforce is a service management software built on a Salesforce app cloud and provides reporting, knowledge management, incident and problem management features. The software provides a service desk system so that users can manage...
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Remedyforce is a service management software built on a Salesforce app cloud and provides reporting, knowledge management, incident and problem management features. The software provides a service desk system so that users can manage...
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ChangeGear by SunView Software is an enterprise-level IT help desk solution that enables companies to better track, manage, and control IT services. The system is available in both web-based and on-premise deployment models.
Constructed...
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ChangeGear by SunView Software is an enterprise-level IT help desk solution that enables companies to better track, manage, and control IT services. The system is available in both web-based and on-premise deployment models.
Constructed...
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NetHelpDesk is an ITIL aligned help desk software that offers ticket tracking and customer relationship management modules with reporting capabilities. The system can manage help desk requests, integrate with email and calendars, provide...
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NetHelpDesk is an ITIL aligned help desk software that offers ticket tracking and customer relationship management modules with reporting capabilities. The system can manage help desk requests, integrate with email and calendars, provide...
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Koho’s Enterprise Service Management software provides a unified approach to service management by offering customer service and support, web self-service, knowledge management, field service, help desk and live chat tools within...
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Koho’s Enterprise Service Management software provides a unified approach to service management by offering customer service and support, web self-service, knowledge management, field service, help desk and live chat tools within...
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InvGate Service Desk is an IT service management platform that offers help desk request fulfillment, customer service and support, self service knowledge management, and more. The system is compatible on Mac, Windows, and iPad (or...
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InvGate Service Desk is an IT service management platform that offers help desk request fulfillment, customer service and support, self service knowledge management, and more. The system is compatible on Mac, Windows, and iPad (or...
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Vivantio is a service management system that allows users to create a personalized solution that aligns with internal business processes. Key features of the software include dashboards, charts, and reports, routing and assignments,...
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Vivantio is a service management system that allows users to create a personalized solution that aligns with internal business processes. Key features of the software include dashboards, charts, and reports, routing and assignments,...
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Buyer's Guide

Knowledge management systems allow you to tame the waves of data flooding your business to streamline training, customer support and other vital operations. We've written this buyer's guide to help you narrow down the many options on the market and find one that fits your needs.

What Is Knowledge Management Software?

Basically, this kind of software transforms the raw data accumulated by a company into useful information. It accomplishes this goal by collecting data in a central knowledge base, contextualizing it and making it easily searchable, so that users can find the information they need on their own.

These applications help a company to build and maintain a knowledge base, which is essentially a specialized database that can be searched and browsed by customers. This allows customers to find answers to their own questions before they contact support agents.

Modern knowledge bases are generally components of company websites, with either intranet or extranet access. Many software packages allow you to customize the design of your customer self-service portal so that it fits with your brand. Employees can write content to publish in the knowledge base. The articles can then be indexed in popular search engines for easy access.

Knowledge bases can also be created for internal use, to assist employees with functions such as document sharing, training and resolving support calls. Employee self-service features can interface with other kinds of customer relationship management (CRM) software in order to optimize the performance of support agents.

Why Do I Need It?

The day-to-day activities of even a small business can produce a bewildering array of data. If this data remains unorganized, it isn't worth much to the company. By using software to organize this data, companies can vastly reduce the time that employees spend searching for answers to questions about their jobs and dealing with customer inquiries.

Enterprises and certain markets—particularly IT, telecommunications and finance—practically demand the use of knowledge bases to survive in the information economy. Small to medium-sized businesses can use them to eliminate cluttered filing cabinets and to help ease the transition to a paperless office.

Knowledge bases also have the potential to streamline training processes for companies facing growing pains. And companies that are contending with a high-turnover rate may want to utilize one in order to keep awareness of best practices alive and to ease the responsibilities of trainers.

Common Feautres of Knowledge Management Software

Knowledge management software offers a diverse array of features. The following table lists some of the most important ones to help you focus your search:

Publishing options

Look for formatting options for content such as rich text, hyperlinks and images. Workflow customization options can streamline content generation, as does the ability to publish emails directly to knowledge bases by CC’ing them to a special address.

Decision trees

Many knowledge management systems can help you create "Q&"-style decision trees, which enable customers to troubleshoot their own issues.

Advanced search and browse options

Look for search filters, auto-suggest capability, natural language search and search engine indexing options. Intent-based search, which matches keywords to common reasons why users search the knowledge base (e.g., how to clear a paper jam in a printer), is another powerful feature included in many knowledge bases.

Feedback options

Your knowledge base should have built-in feedback options that allow users both to vote on the relevance and helpfulness of articles and to add comments when necessary.

RSS feeds

Many knowledge bases feature RSS feeds to keep users on top of new and useful articles.

Self-service portals

Self-service portals or help Web pages for customers and employees are a major part of the foundation for knowledge bases. Make sure that your portal can be customized to fit your brand and the design of the rest of your company's website.

The Benefits of Organizing Company Data

Almost all customer service-oriented businesses can benefit from organizing their data for employee and customer access. Benefits include:

Helping customers help themselves. Collating information to create self-service portals for customers helps to ease the workload of support agents. This is the function of specialized complaint management software.

Centralizing data for support agents. Support agents can also find data about common issues in a single location, which enables them to reduce the amount of time spent on a given ticket.

Centralizing data for sales agents. Similarly, sales agents can find centralized information about tactics for converting leads, in order to reduce their time-per-sale.

Streamlining training. New employees can find answers to questions they encounter as they learn the ropes in one convenient place.

Archiving best practices. The know-how of experienced employees can be preserved so the company doesn't hemorrhage brain power when they leave.

Easy document sharing. Providing employees with centralized, remote access to all vital documents reduces the barrage of internal communications that can snarl the daily workings of a company.

Keeping management informed. Managers have access to key data at their fingertips, which empowers them to make more informed decisions.

Pricing and Purchasing Options

There are two basic market trends that you need to understand to make an informed purchase: inclusion of knowledge management applications in integrated CRM suites and the Web-based deployment model.

Integrated suites vs. “best-of-breed” systems. Knowledge management tools are frequently bundled, along with other applications, as part of an integrated CRM software suite. If you choose an integrated suite, consider whether the other applications in the package meet your needs. If you choose a standalone or “best-of-breed” application instead, you will need to ensure that it integrates with your existing software, such as your customer service, help desk automation and call center automation solutions. Here are some frequently requested applications among buyers we recently surveyed who chose an integrated CRM suite:

Integrated-Suite Buyers' Top-Requested Applications

Web-based vs. on-premise systems. CRM software can be licensed to users in two different ways: Web-based (meaning, the software is hosted in the cloud and accessed online using an Internet browser) or on-premise (installed on your company’s own servers). The Web-based deployment model, or “Software-as-a-Service (SaaS),” is generally more popular for CRM software, and is priced according to a monthly subscription model. With an on-premise model, on the other hand, you get a perpetual license—meaning you pay the licensing fee once for ongoing use of the software.

Pricing scales up based on functionality. No matter which package type and deployment model you choose, if you want a richer feature set, you can generally expect to pay more for the software. You may have to pay for an enterprise-level subscription to create and maintain a fully featured knowledge base on a large scale:

How it Works

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